A new calendar from Matt Shirley.
Thursday, October 03, 2024
5785
Dip your apple in the honey! Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, began yesterday evening. The holiday runs 48 hours and ends at sundown on Friday. As they do every year, Six13 has a song for the occasion. This one is set to the tune of Bowling for Soups' 2004 hit "1985." It still doesn't beat their song from last year, but that's just my opinion. Shana Tova!
The Halloween Yard Truck Returns!
Wild Bill Knowles has made a name for himself with his over-the-top holiday yard decorations. He put his spare Chevy S-10 truck to work in 2022 for Halloween, then brought it back for Christmas, then souped it up for Halloween 2023.
Thus year, he's got the truck messing with a large group of skeletons, each with a name and personality. The truck sports a ridiculous 52" monster tire in the rear with a bicycle wheel on the front! If you can get to Berkshire County, Massachusetts, you should make a point to go see it. (Thanks, xoxoBruce!)
Miss Cellania's Links
Fat Bear Week is Underway! Vote in each round at this page, and watch your favorite bear advance or be eliminated.
Jack Smith had to lay out the evidence against Donald Trump in the 2020 election case, and we get to read all the details. (via Fark)
Let's get those Halloween decorations up! Here's some inspiration from Instructables.
The Disappearance of Diedrich Knickerbocker: How Washington Irving’s Clever Hoax Named the New York Knicks.
A Good Reason for Rural Rage: The Crushing Power of Corporate Meat. Four companies control all chicken production, but some recent victories offer hope. (via Metafilter)
Who Is Baba Yaga? Trickster, mentor, probable goddess—Slavic folklore’s most famous villain is so much more than a witch.
Geologists Reveal a Surprising Reason Why Mount Everest Grows Taller Each Year. Personally, I'm still wondering who gets the job of climbing Everest with a tape measure every year.
Forgotten Object du Jour: The Vinaigrette.
"Hey, Ladies! Trump will be your protector!" The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
Data & Picard
A Pogo remix that's Star Trek themed! It’s a remix of sounds from Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Brent Spider as Data. Even though it’s rendered as nonsense, you’d recognize those voices anywhere, wouldn’t you? And we even get to see Pogo! From the YouTube page:
The track opens with the Klingon Victory Song, followed by a remix of Data singing Che Gelida Manina in the episode 'In Theory'. This episode was the first ever to be directed by Patrick Stewart and I didn't realize this until after the track was finished.Pogo is the professional name of Nick Bertke. (Thanks, Øystein Dale!)
I sourced the Ben Nye makeup that was used to turn Spiner into Data, and a replica of the iconic Star Fleet uniform. Unfortunately I couldn't get the contact lenses in and I could only get the uniform in red, so I spent a huge amount of time changing the colour of my eyes and uniform in post.
Wednesday, October 02, 2024
Music by John Williams
A new documentary on Disney+ looks at the career of John Williams, who brought us the iconic movie music that brings the feels. From Jaws to Star Wars to Jurassic Park, these are the tunes we will never forget. Music by John Williams premieres November first.
Fun With Cops
Did they get a ticket?
byu/double-O-cheese infunny
This is an example of "opening up the lines of communication." It helps when you have treats. (via reddit)
What to Expect at Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest in Munich is the biggest folk festival in the world. More than seven million people took part last year, and they drank almost seven million liters of beer. How did this Bavarian tradition get started? It all began as a wedding reception more than 200 years ago, which turned out to be so much fun they did it agin and again. Oktoberfest couldn't help but grow and grow because of the beer. People really enjoy the beer. The festival spread to other German towns and throughout the world because of the beer. And people from all over the world travel to Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest and drink beer. This video describes what happens at the festival since you might want to go yourself next year. Sure, they drink beer, but there are other things happening, too, like a parade, carnival rides, and food. But yeah, people don't travel from all over the world for those things. They do it for the beer. (via Laughing Squid)
The Origin of Band-Aids
I know, the first thing you do when you see a TED-Ed video is check to see how long it is. This one is pretty short. It’s the story of how Band-Aids were developed. I’d heard the story of the invention before, but the way Johnson & Johnson first marketed the product is pure genius.
As you know, Band-Aids have a lot more uses than just covering wounds. They are great for protecting that spot that would eventually develop a blister as you shovel dirt or break in a new pair of shoes (a concept foreign to young people). They also keep your nipples from bleeding as you run a lengthy footrace. They make children believe they are “all better.” And if you keep some in your purse, they work as an emergency fix for wardrobe malfunctions. (via Laughing Squid)
Tweet of the Day
I was offended as well. I have nothing against outlet plates matching the walls, but they should be removed and painted.This hurts my heart pic.twitter.com/pm408NjV2Y
— Zillow Gone Wild 🏡 (@zillowgonewild) September 30, 2024
Tuesday, October 01, 2024
How to Dispose of a Body
Most of us are obligated to plan a funeral at some point, even if it's just our own. Burial has always been an option, and for most of history, it's a pretty good plan. Put the body underground, and we don't have to witness its degradation. But we've also developed embalming, coffins, and vaults that aren't biodegradable. In some places, burial is temporary, and bones are recovered after some years so the grave can be used again. Setting aside land for the dead is respectful, but can get out of hand when there are too many bodies and too little land. So what's a more sustainable way to, uh, dispose of a the deceased? Hank Green of SciShow lays out several alternatives and compares them for their effects on our future. (via Damn Interesting)
He Tried To Win Over His Girlfriend's Cat
Bill Schaumberg is a producer and editor at The Dodo, so you know that animals are important to him. He started dating Kate, who had a cat named Rita. Bonus! Yeah, Bill had plenty of pets of his own, but he wanted to make friends with Rita. However, Rita is a one-person cat who is clearly attached to Kate, and she is set in her ways. That set up a challenge- can Bill get Rita to hug on him the way she hugs on Kate? Don't get too pushy, because cats can see through that. Winning a cat over takes time, dedication, and consistency. But Bill knows that.
The Evolution of Bryan Cranston
Bryan Cranston's Hollywood career goes back further than you know. For twenty years, he was a reliable character actor used for small roles in a variety of TV shows and movies. Cranston's generic good looks got him picked for guest spots, but it wasn't until the year 2000 that he landed a regular role on the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, and even then he wasn't the star. However, he made the role his own and became a favorite of the show's fans. Malcolm in the Middle cemented Cranston as a talented comedic actor.
Then in 2008, we were all shocked that this sitcom dad was suddenly the star of Breaking Bad, playing Walter White, a drug manufacturer. Cranston pulled this off perfectly, and proved he's not just a character actor or a comedic actor, he is an actor. (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
What’s going on in Asheville? The devastating fallout from Hurricane Helene, explained.
Mystery Object in the Basement Identified as Something It's Not.
Responding to Forbes' list of the top 30 songs from the 1970s, Fark gives us a mega gallery of videos you'll love.
Vikings Sailed to The Ends of Earth to Search For Ivory, DNA Suggests. (via Real Clear Science)
The Wild West of Papal Conclaves. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the death of a pope led to all sorts of chaos, from the destruction of art to armed violence in the streets. (via Strange Company)
5 of History's Least Fun Drinking Games. Sometimes the prize was death.
Are We Too Impatient to Be Intelligent? Maybe we're looking at time all wrong. (via Metafilter)
A Short Guide to Afternoon Tea. It's actually a rather complicated matter. (via Nag on the Lake)
Kids Explain How Babies Are Made
The staff of Jimmy Kimmel Live! asked kids on the street to explain where babies come from. Some had no trouble. Others were embarassed. And one very young little girl had no idea what the question was, but knew what to do when there’s a microphone around! They went back to her again and again because she was so cute.
Tweet of the Day
We've seen seen a US president live to the age of 100.President Carter is 100 years old. pic.twitter.com/C0ERMEh4MR
— Videos and Pics (@wholesomev_m) September 30, 2024
Monday, September 30, 2024
If Boeing Made The Death Star
So what if you can see it coming? They aren't going to make you wait long. (Thanks, Brother Bill!)
Blank Space (Donald's Version)
Randy Elizabeth Rainbow moderates a presidential debate and songifies it to the tune of "Blank Space" by Taylor swift. There's an 80-second skippable ad at :45.
The Joy of Judging Rich People's Homes
You know how we who aren't rich like to make fun of the dumb ways rich people spend their money? There is nothing tackier than buying an uncomfortable home just to show off how much money you can spend on one. It's what makes McMansion Hell such a fun site, as well as Homes and Hues and Zillow Gone Wild because money doesn't automatically bestow good taste. There are often ridiculous quirks in these properties that make us feel better about not having the money to embarrass ourselves like that. Conspicuous consumption is a serious affair, but it also makes you look weird.
Miss Cellania's Links
18th century autumn pies. You may find them a bit strange. (via Strange Company)
Study: Cats in little crocheted hats shed light on feline chronic pain.
Astronomers prepare for once-in-a-lifetime event: A 'new star' in the night sky. It's a nova that happens every 80 years. (via Damn Interesting)
How the Swastika, an Ancient Symbol of Good Fortune Used Around the World, Became the Nazi Logo.
How Chain Restaurants Use Smells to Entice Us. When it comes to marketing food, scent can be as important as flavor.
How to Bathe a Cat. An alternate method. (Thanks, Bicycle Bill!)
Jurassic World Rebirth Gets Exciting Filming Update (Including Tease Of Sequel Trilogy Detail Return).
How a catchy tune became the soundtrack to TikTok's silliest videos. The song is called "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys." (via Nag on the Lake)
Colorism
The title of this video is What Dark-Skinned People Will Never Tell You, but that’s kind of a misnomer, because they tell us. The people featured are all strikingly attractive, but have been made to feel lesser because of past evils that shaped our culture. It speaks to how pervasive prejudice is when people are singled out even within their own ethnicity for being any different from those around them. Put everyone together and humans have a tendency to rank everyone by shade, and that’s both infuriating and sad. (via Boing Boing)
Tweet of the Day
I'll be there with you every step of the way..🐕🥺❤️
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) September 27, 2024
We don't deserve them..🙏 pic.twitter.com/XFBlr9xlk6
Sunday, September 29, 2024
Finding the Giant Squid
The sea holds untold mysteries and legends of monsters from as far back as people have gone to sea. Most of the many sea monster sightings have been explained by drunk and disoriented sailors, and sea monsters that wash up on shore are usually known animals that have been partially eaten or have decayed. But people know what a squid is, because the smaller ones are quite familiar. In 1873, one that was mistaken for a shipwreck grabbed a fishing boat, but was fought off. But later evidence of giant squids was limited to dead specimens and body parts. Giant squids can be 40 feet long! We knew they were there, so why did it take until 2004 to find one alive? Maybe they are hiding from us. The Kraken is smarter than we thought. And that's just the giant squid- we still haven't seen a live colossal squid! (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Teddy's Tale
Simon's Cat meets a stray named Teddy who has been homeless for some time, but not long enough to be feral. The cat feels sorry for him and tries to find hi a new home. But Teddy wants to live somewhere where he will fit in on his own terms. This three-minute cartoon is actually an edit of an earlier, much longer story that explains the backstory of the cat Teddy. The reason the cartoon was edited for re-release is that the real Teddy, who lived with Simon's Cat creator Simon Tofield, recently passed away. This is a tribute to him.
See, Tofield has always drawn inspiration from his own cats, past and present. Teddy was a black cat who was the original inspiration for the kitten, Tofield's second animated cat character after Simon's Cat. But then the real life Teddy grew up, while the animated kitten did not, and Teddy deserved his own character.
Saturday Night Live Opens Their 50th Season
SNL opened last night in the manner you expected, by introducing Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris on the campaign trail. Jim Gaffigan is Tim Walz, Andy Samberg is Doug Emhoff, James Austin Johnson is Trump as usual, Bowen Yang is JD Vance, and Dana Carvey makes a special appearance as Joe Biden. It's rather long for an opening skit, because they have a lot of material to catch up on after this summer. I, for one, am looking forward to Doug Emhoff supervising the White House Christmas decorations.
What the Auctioneer is Saying
We know that professional auctioneers develop a lovely chant that goes as fast as the bidding will allow, whether you can understand it or not. The patter is hypnotic, and the speed moves the auction along. But is it all nonsense? No, it’s real language, although manipulated. Barry Baker is not only an auctioneer, but teaches the art to others as well. Here he explains a bit about the auctioneer chant and lets us in on what they are really saying. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Tweet of the Day
This is the video you didn’t know you needed to see today
— Jessi 💫 (@its_jessi_grace) September 25, 2024
🐻 🤍 pic.twitter.com/fpM6j5uVWc
Saturday, September 28, 2024
The Origins of Wall Street
The term "Wall Street" is used to denote the American hub of finance and stock trading. It's used more as an idea than as a place, but it is also a real street in Manhattan. You recognize it by the big bronze bull, which is actually on Broadway, but still in the financial district. But how did that financial district come about? The story goes back almost 400 years, at least to explain where the name came from. It took a lot longer for Wall Street to cement its reputation for finance. But these days, the actual neighborhood in New York doesn't have all that many banks and investment companies left. But when you hear the term Wall Street, you know what someone is talking about. (via Laughing Squid)
Putting Bats Right Side Up
Bats are scary because they fly in the dark and you won't see them coming until they startle you with a sense of movement out of the corner of your eye. There's something alien about mammals that fly and rest by hanging upside down. But they have their place in the ecosystem, as some bats eat thousands of mosquitos every night, while others pollinate crops. At Bat World Sanctuary in Texas, injured or orphaned bats can be sheltered and then released back into the wild, and bats rescued from labs and zoos can find a permanent home. They know how to make bats less alien-looking just by turning the camera upside down! Then they are just animals dealing with weird gravity. You can get to know more of the residents of Bat World at Instagram.
Typing Piano
We've seen typewriters used as musical instruments a few times, and while it's cool, it's not all that melodic. But now it is. Brazilian pianist Fabricio André Bernard Di Paolo, or Lord Vinheteiro, is not only a talented musician, he has a deep knowledge of every every note on every piano key. He attached strings to his piano so that he could play it by typing on two typewriters! Now the piano is a stringed instrument. Sure, he did the attaching, but keeping track of which key goes with which note takes a lot of cognitive bandwidth. Not only that, but he is playing the melody with his left hand, and the bass rhythm with his right, because he has his back to the piano. That's somewhat akin to playing the piano from its backside, but harder because it's two typewriters.
Scaredy Cats
What’s the most popular hobby among house cats? It has to be birdwatching. These three cats are mesmerized by the bird outside their window. It’s better than any TV show! And what’s a popular hobby among dogs? Annoying the cats, of course.
Tweet of the Day
Family: "Come here, Fluffy. We want a portrait of you."
— Undine (@HorribleSanity) September 25, 2024
Fluffy: "I'm not leaving this bowl."
Family: "But, Fluffy, we have this nice chair for..."
Fluffy: "LOVE ME, LOVE MY BOWL."
Family: pic.twitter.com/HB2JoXyVDw
Friday, September 27, 2024
About Pasta
Warning: this video will make you hungry. Pasta is an amazing food. It's made of wheat, like bread, but can be stored for a long period without going bad. It's easy to cook, and it fills you up. But most important, it can carry a full dish of flavor depending on what sauce or other ingredients you combine it with. It can help a small amount of meat or soup feed an entire family. It's no wonder pasta is popular all over. We consume it in a variety of forms, from ramen to lasagna to Kraft Dinner. But where did it really come from? How was it developed? And how can we get some right now?
Date Night
The New Zealand filmmaking group AFK is producing a Star Wars fan film series on YouTube called For the Empire. You can see all the episodes so far in this playlist. It's an epic saga, but occasionally an episode stands alone rather well. In this one, the stormtrooper TK-FNG gets busted for incompetence and demoted. His assignments deteriorate until he finds himself guarding a Clone Wars fan convention. Then as his shift ends, he encounters his own cosplaying son, TK-FKU, attending the con. The two get a chance to catch up with each other even though they are quite different. In other words, it's a weird family bonding night. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Moments of Excitement
C'mon, Marshmallow, my life is really not that dull. This comic is from Jimmy Craig at They Can Talk.
No Context is the Best Context
(via Infidel753)
Well, this is pretty funny without context, but gwdMaine had to go and find the original comic. Good luck reading the whole thing, since you can't enlarge the pictures.
CAPTCHA Photographer
Every once in a while, you have to pass a CAPTCHA test to use something on the internet. This is supposed to prove you're a human user, and not a robot or an algorithm trying to introduce spam, malware, or misinformation. Sure, we understand why these are sadly necessary, but they can be enraging. You may be instructed to check all boxes that contain a traffic light, for example, but they don't tell us whether the pole holding it is included. Or the indicated object is too far away to see. Or you may miss a tiny corner. Bingo- you've been labeled as a robot and cannot access what you came for. Requesting a different image may or may not improve your chances, but you get the feeling that just the request causes a bias against you. Who comes up with these things?
It takes an entire team, but the photographer is Landra Fontaine, who loves her job because she's a sadist. And a troll. You might even call her the scum of the earth. The next time you are confounded by a CAPTCHA, you will know who to blame. (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
Yellowstone’s Hot Springs Kill More People than Bears Do. (via Damn Interesting)
The Battle of Palmdale: How a Pilotless Drone Embarrassed The US Air Force.
A classic site: Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names. (via Everlasting Blort)
The Stories Behind 8 ‘Witch’ Graves. Six of them are in the US, in case you want to plan an autumn road trip.
Hummingbirds thrive on an extreme lifestyle. Here’s how. (via Damn Interesting)
Majority of Americans continue to favor moving away from Electoral College. (via Fark)
Why the World’s First Pet Cemetery Was Revolutionary.
All You Need Is Love
Glove and Boots covers the Beatles. Look for Batman, Rick Grimes, and Popeye among the celebrity cameos. (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
The incoming recruits of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all Gen Z. Let's see if they can name some items from the 1990s, and see how old it makes you feel. (via Digg)when I saw the items they were identifying, it hit me like stray gunfire. 😭 pic.twitter.com/jtssUtCHQR
— Sassington, M.C. (@MissSassbox) September 21, 2024
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Fairy the Fawn
Jeff Letendre encountered a fawn who was too young to be away from its mother, but there was no sign of a mother, and the fawn was very hungry. So he provided her with milk and named her Fairy. These cases are sometimes pretty sad because a baby wild animal adopted by humans often has to live in captivity for the rest of their life. But Jeff was well aware of that and kept Fairy outside and encouraged her to meet other deer once she was weaned. Fairy lucked out and met a deer family with a mother that had enough maternal instinct to let a strange fawn join the family. Now Jeff had the best of both worlds, knowing that Fairy was happy and healthy living in the woods, but coming back to see him every once in a while. See more of Jeff and his woodland friends at Instagram.
How to Take a Dino's Temperature
The word "we" in the post title doesn't mean me or you, because I haven't got a clue, but scientists who know what temperature many species of dinosaur had when they were alive. I didn't even know those had been discovered at all. Al we have left of those dinosaurs are fossilized bone and a few impressions from skin, feathers, and footprints. But chemical analysis has detected a chemical called bioapatite, which sounds like something that makes you hungry. The study of this molecule tells us that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, or at least many that we know about, which makes them different from the reptiles we studied in grade school.
Miss Cellania's Links
What Is the Purpose of This Brickwork?
Inside the collapse of Disney’s America, the US history-themed park that almost was.
Man buried with large stones on his chest to prevent him from 'rising from the grave' unearthed in Germany. Plus more sad burials at a gallows cemetery. (via Boing Boing)
10 Historical Pigments—and Their Surprising Origins—from The Universe in 100 Colors.
7 Objects Named After the Exact Wrong Thing.
The Cinematic Spectacle of Flipping a Table. Contains NSFW language.
See Newly Discovered Nazca Drawings That Depict Llamas, Human Sacrifices and More.
How it started, how it's going. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
'Postcards are the email of their day': How cat memes went viral 100 years ago. (via Damn Interesting)
HAPPY 24th ANNIVERSARY to Madame Jujujive at Everlasting Blort!
Don't Be A Sucker
The US War Department made this film in 1947 to show how easy it is to be seduced by the forces of fanaticism and hatred. The first step is to feed people a sense of resentment, and a target for that resentment. Divide everyone into groups, "us" vs. "them." Restrict information, education, and news sources. Don't let people see that one day the leopard they adore might eat their face. These tactics have been in place in America for a long time. And people are still falling for them. Read more about this movie, including reviews, at Archive.org. (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)#BlackJobs pic.twitter.com/MXZqTpEBJb
— 𝓝𝓲𝓴𝓴𝓲 𝓑𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼 (@NikkiBarnesFL) September 14, 2024
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
How to Save Your Own Life
The things we re afraid of killing us are not the things we should really be afraid of. I'm not afraid of flying because I haven't been on a plane in 15 years. But even if I did take a flight, the odds of dying are greater in driving to the airport. This video is all about statistics. Right off the bat, I found out that I'm not in the normal demographic to watch Kurzgesagt videos, but if you are, it's a good idea to know what's most likely to kill you, and maybe you can lower the odds. Despite the posted length, this video is only 10:30; the rest is promotional. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Otter the Kitten
Otter was abandoned at an age way too early to be separated from her mother. Her eyes weren't even open! But Katie volunteered to foster her, and bless her for her efforts. She is willing to let Otter go to another family so she will have the time and space to foster another needy cat. See more of Otter at Instagram.
Frog
A reminder that you cannot believe everything someone says. Or anything, for that matter. This comic is from Dan Wheeler at Big Fat Comics. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
The Half-Empty Glass
In this episode of of the What If? series, we get classically literal. The old saying is that an optimist looks at a glass of liquid and sees it as half-full, while a pessimist looks and sees the same glass as half-empty. Meanwhile, a pedant looks at the same glass and says that it contains a combination of 50% drinkable liquid and 50% air. That's pretty much when a logical discussion shuts down and people try to change the subject. We all know what an empty glass means; we've washed a lot of them. But if you are going to get really literal, you ca forget all about optimists and pessimists. What does a physicist (Henry Reich) and an engineer (Randall Munroe) make of a glass that is only 50% full, and the rest is ...nothing? That means a vacuum, and that can get violent. Strangely, the effect can be recreated in real life, but be sure to have a broom and some paper towels handy.
Miss Cellania's Links
The Right Chemistry: The life and death of a Soviet-era search for longevity. A physician's hypothesis drew the attention of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who was interested in increasing life expectancy — his own. (via Real Clear Science)
Ernest Duchesne: The Forgotten Discoverer of Penicillin. His 1897 doctoral thesis was lost for fifty years.
I give to charity — but never to people on the street. Is that wrong? The quest to give effectively feels like it’s turning me into a cold-hearted jerk.
America’s Oldest Tombstone Was Imported From Thousands Of Miles Away. (via Strange Company)
Play the Google Arts & Culture game called What Came First? (via Kottke)
Satellite images suggest test of Russian “super weapon” failed spectacularly.
Shackleton, the cat who faked his own death. (via Damn Interesting)
True Collectors Know the Secret Charm of Antique Faux Gold.
How Much Would it Cost to Live on the Moon?
Fifty years ago, we thought colonizing the moon was surely in our future. But once the space race was won, the moon was found to be not useful enough to justify the expense. And the expense of getting there was astronomical. Maybe that’s where the word came from. Our dream of living on the moon would be even more expensive. This video from Whenever Productions explains the economics of space colonization. The planned Mars mission looks different when you look at it from the financial side. The Apollo missions also look different. Did we really spend that much money just to beat the Soviets to the moon? (via Digg)
Tweet of the Day
Emily ended up keeping Ginger. You can see more of her at Thread Reader and even more back-and-forth in the Twitter comments.Found a cat :( pic.twitter.com/ZTOsfL9yNk
— Emily Stepp (@Emily_Art) September 16, 2024
(via Undine)The look she gave me when I said her name the first time was such a strange thing. She still knows her name.
— Emily Stepp (@Emily_Art) September 16, 2024
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Hysteria
When we say a viral video is hysterical, that's good because it means it's funny. When we call a woman hysterical, it's a dismissive, gender-coded word that means she's upset or angry and not in control of her emotions. There is a long history behind the word used this way, and it boils down to men not taking women's problems seriously, which only adds to the anger. It was much simpler to assume there's something about a uterus that makes women difficult. Menstrual cramps no doubt contributed to this belief, but it was altogether easier to blame the uterus than it was to take a woman's feelings or opinions seriously.
Early TV Shows
Have you ever heard of the TV show The Queen's Messenger? Probably not, since it aired in 1928. But wait! We didn't have TV until after the second World War! Well, we did, but no one had a TV set to watch it on. The Queen's Messenger was an experimental production, a radio play transferred to a visual format for broadcast on station W2XAD (also known as WGY) in Schenectady, New York. It is considered the first TV drama. Too bad no one saw it. Oh, the broadcast station set up television receivers around the city, with three-inch screens, so maybe a few lucky people saw it, mostly WGY employees.
Television was still in its infancy when World War II put aside its development, but afterward, programming became more plentiful and people started buying TV sets, which made all the difference. In this video, The Historian introduces us to five groundbreaking series that made television something everyone wanted to see. I would put one thing differently, though. I Love Lucy was certainly groundbreaking in its humor and quality, but its real impact was that it was the first TV show that was recorded so it could be replayed, and therefore introduced the rerun. That's why we can still watch I Love Lucy, but not the earlier shows.
Thunderbolts* Trailer
The Marvel film Thunderbolts* assembles a team of anti-heroes, who some would call villains, for a government mission. But, as you might guess, nothing turns out to be as it seems. Thunderbolts* reunites some familiar MCU characters with newly-arrived screen characters from the comics, and some intriguing bonus characters, like Harrison Ford once again playing the president of the United States. As for the asterisk in the title, that's very deliberate, although no one connected to the film will explain why. They say the reason will be apparent when you see the completed movie. Thunderbolts* will be the 36th MCU film, and the last of Phase Five. It opens nationwide on May 2, 2025. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
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